Wrapping up the final installment of our Native Tongues Tribute, we bring you 7+ chock-full hours of classics, current jawns, remixes and even more collaborative efforts. Because a 7 hour show isn’t ideal for streaming sites, we decided to turn Episode 30 into an A side and B side. This should also help eliminate the anxiety of having to sit through an episode 7+ hours long too.

Special guest Mike G. of the Jungle Brothers stops by to share stories about DJ Red Alert, Chris Lighty’s OCD, the ultimate hip-house classic, touring the UK and Mike even sheds light on a possible NT reunion.

We damn near cover everything imaginable our 2-part 13+ hour Native Tongue Tribute. On part 2, we’ve included progression mixes for both De La and Tribe. We dig deeper in the Black Sheep and J. Beez catalog. We’ve got gems from Queen Latifah, Chi-Ali with the help of The Beatnuts and we even delve in to the solo work of Phife Dawg, Dres and Q-Tip.

Episode 30 has 121 tracks (210 total in the tribute), including a fresh DJ 360 remix for your listening pleasure. This episode should help cap off your summer and hopefully most of you will finish listening to this tribute by Labor Day. Take it in slowly or run through it like Emmitt Smith. Remember, we love adding little nuances, crazy samples, funny sound bites and little Easter eggs throughout our episodes, so listen and enjoy the sounds of Take It Personal. From all of us, we thank you for your continued support!

I used to love making mixtapes back in the day. Who didn’t? I thoroughly enjoy the process of gathering tracks, sequencing and all that stuff that goes into making the perfect mix. I find it cathartic. If you enjoy the track selections and sequence on Take It Personal, then I know I still got it! Sometimes, you just want to listen to a good mix. A good mix without any obnoxious DJ yelling over tracks. No mix where your track ends abruptly or the blend kills the vibe. You don’t want any of that. You just want to enjoy the music uninterrupted. So with that said, I have decided to start putting out a bi-monthly #Spotify mixtape series. With mixtapes or playlists, whatever you call it these days, it’s all about mood. For me, there isn’t a rhyme or reason as to why I selected all these tracks. It’s all about feeling and this is what I’m feeling today. I hope you enjoy!

Every once in a while, we hit you with a tribute that requires several hours of your time. This is one of them. The Native Tongues collective are comprised of some of the most important, most influential and some of biggest innovators hip-hop has seen. With the help and hustle of Red Alert and Chris Lighty, The Native Tongues were a force to be reckoned with. The Jungle Brothers paved the way for groups like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep. Prior to The Flava Unit, Queen Latifah was this crew’s Den mother. Along with her protégé Monie Love, they were both instrumental in helping the female movement in hip-hop. The Native Tongues provided plenty of classic albums, countless anthems and produced more offspring than Joe Jackson (RIP).

The Natives helped jump-start the careers of Busta Rhymes, Chi-Ali, Mos Def, J Dilla, The Beatnuts and have influenced artists like Brand Nubian, K.M.D., Common, Bush Babees, The Roots, Slum Village, Little Brother, Kanye West, Kweli, Pharrell, Hieroglyphics, The Pharcyde, Roc Marciano, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Andre 3000, Chance The Rapper and even Nas. They’ve influenced everyone. Odds are, every rapper imaginable has heard Straight Out The Jungle, De La Soul Is Dead, The Low End Theory, A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, Buhloone Mindstate, Midnight Marauders, or Stakes Is High and possibly has several of those albums listed among their favorites, too. The Native Tongue brand was strong despite some internal conflict, growing pains and different career paths. They left an everlasting impression on hip-hop. It is our privilege to present to you The Native Tongues Tribute Part 1. You won’t find another NT tribute like this and we’re just getting started!

On episode 28, we discuss beef. Today’s beef ain’t what it used to be, so like Biggie said “What’s beef?” Pusha T vs. Drake is fun, but we remind you of when these battles meant something. And speaking of reminding, it’s time we remind everyone that Black Thought being a top 5 is no longer up for discussion. Seasons change mad things rearrange and with this summer heat we had to lace you with classics from Naughty By Nature, Heavy D, Slum Village, O.C., Main Source, Cypress Hill, KMD, Jay-Z, Big Daddy Kane and you know no TIP episode is complete without a DJ 360 remix! We also have new joints from Pusha T, Black Thought, J. Cole, Forever M.C. and an exclusive by Vanderslice & Conway.

Producer extraordinaire and professional feelings hurter, Vanderslice also stops by to talk about his upcoming album The Best Album Money Can Buy and to debut of our new segment – The Happy Recap w/Vanderslice. This is the start of summer and Take It Personal plans to keep you entertained all throughout. Grab your drinks, smokes and if you’re sweating profusely, then grab some ice cubes and rub them all over like Mookie did to Tina. Just make sure you listen to episode 28 on blast and preferably on repeat too!

On episode 27, we’re joined by our close friend and former Philaflava Show member, DJ Krisis. We’re all feeling good on this episode thanks to some incredibly strong edibles and the sounds of the 90s. For many, this show will take you right back to high school with classics and forgotten gems from King Just, Private Investigators, Now Born Click, Da King & I, Kurious, Gravediggaz, Organized Konfusion, OutKast, Big Mike, Cash Money Click, Boogiemonsters, Trends of Culture, World Renown, KMD, plus, DJ 360 laces us with a remix of Woo-Hah. We also got a little friendly DJ battle between DJ 360 vs. DJ Krisis on this episode. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this!

On episode 26, we’re joined by the man responsible for saving New York hip-hop, Mr. Roc Marciano. Fresh off Rosebudd’s Revenge Part 2 (The Bitter Dose), we discuss the past, present and future with Roc Marci. We check the status of the Metal Clergy project with Ka. We dig into his production style and sequencing. We touch on his influence on today’s rappers and even find out his opinions on certain rappers like Black Thought, Eminem, Jay Electronica, Podsnous, Kool Keith and GZA. We learn he’d like to work with Rick Ross and that his pimp hand is very strong.

When the teacha talks, you listen. KRS-One stopped by Take It Personal to discuss, well, everything. This isn’t just our best interview, it’s our most favorite! KRS-One is not one to shy away from any topic, so we covered his beef with MC Shan, politics, working with R.E.M., Ced Gee’s involvement on Criminal Minded, working with DJ Premier again, his musical influence, his fame and he even laced us with an off-the-top freestyle. Don’t forget to check out the full tribute episode if you haven’t already. It contains countless classics, unreleased gems, remixes and stellar guest spots. This interview is so good, by the time that 60 minutes is up, I’m certain you’ll be wanting more Blastmaster.

Episode 25 was a dream come true for us. If you’ve listened to our Wu-Tang, DJ Premier, Prodigy, Atmosphere and Pete Rock tribute shows, you know we’re like Steady B and take these tributes seriously. On this 5+ hour tribute, we take you back to the days of Boogie Down Production all the way to the Blastmaster of today. We sprinkle in boom bap classics, underground anthems, guest appearances, remixes and personal favorites throughout this musical journey. It’s sometimes easy to forget greatness, but after this episode, we’re certain everyone will remember just how important, influential and accomplished KRS-One is. We’re also certain after listening, it’s going to be difficult not to reconsider your greatest MC’s rankings. We have a brand new website TakeItPersonalRadio.com where you can stream, download and view playlists for every episode we release. Enjoy our KRS-One tribute and keep real hip-hop alive!

Part 2 concludes our 8-hour Pete Rock tribute. It was a daunting task to properly celebrate Pete’s astonishing career but after two episodes and 480 minutes of music, we think we got it right. Part 2 focuses more on Pete’s work from the late 90s all the way to today. Besides the solo work, we have music from Rakim, Raekwon, Bumpy Knuckles, Phife Dawg, Black Star, Guru, Ghostface Killah, Ill Bill, Big L, Roc Marciano, The LOX, Redman, Planet Asia, Cormega, Sadat X, Termanology, Grap Luva, Nature, Torae, Smoke DZA, Cypress Hill, De La Soul & Apathy to name a few. Don’t forget, we just relaunched our new website TakeItPersonalRadio.com, where you can stream, download and view all playlists for every episode, including this one. Please join us as we continue to celebrate one of the greatest producers to ever do it – Pete Rock!

Episode 24 was an idea we had for a while. We all said Pete Rock deserves a proper tribute, so we’re proud to finally present the first of two installments of this Soul Brother #1 tribute. If you had asked us a little over a year ago when we started Take It Personal, that we’d have two of the greatest producers of all-time as our guests, we wouldn’t have believed it. This is truly a case of dreams becoming reality. It was an honor celebrating Pete Rock’s distinguished catalog and even a bigger honor having him as a guest on our show. We talk with Pete about Heavy D, DJ Premier, De La Soul, Dilla, Redman, Kanye all the way to his top 5 producers. He shared his thoughts on drumless beats these days. We even get the answer to a possible CL Smooth reunion. Please join us as we celebrate one of the greatest producers to ever do it – Pete Rock!